A thought exists within Christianity that confessing our sin is an unimportant and even unnecessary part of our walk with Christ. The thought process is a simple yet devastating one. The Christian believes that since Jesus took all of our sin on the cross and since the believer is forgiven, confession is unnecessary.
In confession, we ask for God’s forgiveness. Therefore, we must not ask for His forgiveness if we are already told that we are forgiven. The thought process seems logical and makes sense to a degree. However, when we think this way we are not taking into account all that the Scriptures have to say about confession and our forgiveness.
Filthy feet
During the time of Jesus, most of the travel that was done was on foot. The disciples and Jesus Himself would have primarily traveled this way. There is also a popular saying that all roads lead to Rome. This was in essence true. Rome was a vast empire that spanned the known world during that time. The empire realized that maintaining such a large area was not just difficult but nearly impossible.
As a result, they did what they could and developed a system of roads that allowed for easy mobilization of troops to various areas. These troops and their fleet of horses would travel along these roads going from place to place. These roads were made available for other travelers to use and became a main source of travel for soldier and civilian alike. Needless to say, these roads were dirty.
A common story within Christianity can be read in John chapter 13. In this story, Jesus, the humble servant, gets up to wash His disciples’ feet. Their feet would have been filthy. They would have been wearing sandals on their journey, and along these highly traveled roads would have been a great amount of sand and dirt.
So there is the picture for us as we enter into a time when Jesus moves from one disciple to another and washes their feet. Eventually He arrives at Peter and stoops down to wash Peter’s feet. Peter’s response is understandable, and he seeks to tell Jesus that Jesus should not wash his feet. At this, Jesus says, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” (John 13:8). Jesus was telling Peter that He must wash his feet and that it is essential for proper communion between them.
Peter continues in the conversation and moves from not wanting Jesus to wash his feet to wanting Jesus to wash his whole body. Jesus once again brings clarity to the situation and tells Peter that he does not need his whole body cleansed. Rather, he has already been cleansed and he only needs his feet washed.
Making sense of the disciples’ filthy feet
The disciples’ feet were dirty. They had been walking in the world, and as a result their feet got dirty. They needed to be washed. But notice they didn’t need an entire cleansing like Peter asked for. They just needed their feet touched up.
This is recognized as an illustrative picture of the proper place of confession in our lives. We do not come to God to get saved from His wrath every time we confess our sin to Him. That truly has been done away with. We are forgiven people. However, what begins to take place is that as we continue to live in this world as believers we get a little dirty, and this causes our intimacy and relationship with God to be affected negatively. We need to be cleansed, but not in the same way as we did when we first came to Christ. Confession brings about this cleansing, and in a sense we are forgiven of our sin when we confess.
David’s instruction on confession
A quick look into David’s life will reveal that he was a man who confessed his sin to the Lord. Not only was confession a part of David’s life, but there were also times in which he avoided confession. David experienced some seriously devastating effects of unconfessed sin. In Psalm 32, we read of the way that David had committed sin against the Lord, and for one reason or another, he did not quickly turn to God and ask for God’s forgiveness.
This delay and/or neglect of confession led David to experiencing physical ailments. David said he felt the effects in his bones, and his bones literally became depleted of their strength (32:3). David experienced times of groaning (32:3). God’s hand was heavy upon David, continually pressing on him, and David began to feel an overwhelmingly heavy weight (32:4). His strength was truly depleted (32:4).
Then came the time when David did what needed to be done and confessed his sin to the Lord. This simple act brought about great results in David’s life. David’s relationship with God was restored. God’s heavy hand was taken off. David’s strength came rushing back.
It’s possible that we may be experiencing some of the challenges that David did and are in need of a refreshing touch from God.
What does it mean to confess?
As we confess our sin to the Lord, it is important to know that God is not a dumpster that we throw our trash into and move on. When confession is spoken of in Scripture, it means to agree with God. As we approach God, we don’t just tell Him what we did wrong. Instead, we really believe that it is wrong even to the point in which we desire to change and are determined to do so in the Lord’s strength.
Closing thoughts
Look to Jesus – in Him is the forgiveness of our sin. He has made the way through His death on the cross, and we are draped in His righteousness. The work has been done, and the victory has been won. Jesus took the curse upon His shoulders and bore the wrath of God. We are free, and God sees us as His children. Let the work of Christ rid you of your guilt before Him, and let the weight of shame vanish into the distance. This is the God in Whom we confess, and His love for us will begin to change our love for Him.
Final prayer
Father, I thank You for the work of Christ. I thank You that I can confess my sin and know that You are waiting to cleanse me and restore my relationship with You. You are holy, righteous, and good, and I pray that You would help me to see my sin like You do. Help me to agree with You when I come before You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.